A Review and Some Information About Gearoid O hAllmhurain

By Paul Schwartz
1996

A posting in the rec.music.makers.squeezebox newsgroup told of an appearance by Gearoid O hAllmhurain at a local Irish pub here in Montreal (Hurley's), so my wife and I went.

It was a superb performance. It was just him accompanied by guitar, and the combination of his talent, excellent instruments (two gorgeous Jeffries made around 1900 I think), and the intimate setting (I sat about two feet from his side) made for an unforgettable evening.

As I had only recently taken up the Anglo (about two months previous), and because this was the first concertina player I had heard besides those great Bertram Levy tapes that come with his book, I'm not really qualified to give any objective opinion here, but my wife and I thought he was superb. I really expected to be wowed by a big display of virtuousity, but was pleasantly surprised that what really set the playing apart was his complete control of the instrument and his obvious love of and understanding of the music. He played mostly reels, jigs, a few waltzes and marches, and an incredibly lively version of the traditional tune "Over the Moor to Maggie" on a Clarke tin whistle.

He also has a new CD out called Traditional Music from Clare and Beyond which I purchased and am very happy with. I prefer the raw performance I saw to the more polished studio performances of the CD, but it's a must have for any Concertina or Irish music fan. The CD liner is almost worth the price alone, as it has a nice essay about County Clare music, musicians, and a little about the author's life too. Each song also has nice notes about its history. Please see my music page for more details and sound clips from this CD.

I spoke to Gearoid and Cecilia afterwards, and they're both really friendly and open - apparently Gearoid teaches Irish concertina playing, with a week-long course in the Catskills every year on the East Coast. They can be reached by e-mail at CelticXing@aol.com and you can now browse their web site at www.celticcrossings.com

The Catskills program can be reached by calling 1-800-434-FEST or 518-634-2286

Here is the ordering information for the CD/Cassette: Please send an international money order for US$16 for the CD or US$10 for a cassette plus $1.50 shipping & handling in the United States ($3.00 for Canadian s/h). Please send payment to: Celtic Crossings, 1557 Sloat Blvd, Box 179, San Francisco, CA 94132 USA. Excellent 20 page booklet included with information about the music, musicians and tunes.